Not Even This
by Yuri-san
Summary: When all of Dumbledore's other plans fail, he has to send Ginny back in time to try and stop Tom Riddle from ever becoming Voldemort. Because she has a connection with him. GWTR. Non HBP compliant. Rating subject to change. WIP.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I'm the youngest child and only girl in the Weasley family. I have six older brothers-- two of which are identical twins. There is one simple fact of life that I have had to get used to. Nothing I own is mine. Not the books I read (hand-me-downs) or the clothes I wear (relative's hand-me-downs). Not my first name (my great-grandmother's), my middle name (my mother's), or my last name (my father's). Not even a moments' peace and quiet. I suppose I should have known that when I finally found love, it wouldn't really be mine either…

-written by 17 year old Ginerva Molly Weasley in her diary

---

Ginny stared at her feet. She knew that it was impolite, but her eyes were red from crying and she didn't want to look up. She didn't want to look into the eyes of one of the greatest wizards in the world. Would he pity her? Perhaps. Would he think that her pain was insignificant? Probably not. She had, after all, lost virtually everyone she'd ever loved in a matter of days. But she wanted this pain to be hers, shared with no one else. So she stared at her feet.

"Do you know why I wanted to speak to you Ginerva?" Dumbledore asked the last living Weasley.

"No," Ginny said to her feet. She would have responded this way even if she _did_ know.

"We have lost so many people in this war, Ginerva. _Too_ many people, in fact," the Hogwarts Headmaster said tiredly. "There is one way to end this all, but it is so extreme that I have saved this option until it was absolutely necessary--- unavoidable even."

Ginny looked up from her feet in confusion. What did this have to do with her? She'd already resigned herself to living a scared and pathetic existence until she finally wasted away. Any feelings of hope that she'd had died with the famous Harry Potter.

"You are the only one who can do this Ginerva," Dumbledore told her. "You are the world's last hope." As melodramatic as it sounded, it was true. "You have a connection with Tom-- not Voldemort-- but Tom Marvolo Riddle. We need to use this to our advantage and stop the at it's root. We need to stop it before it starts."

Ginny gasped in realization. He couldn't possibly mean…She took the golden time turner that Dumbledore held out into both of her shaking hands.

She would be going back 50 years in time. . .

-tbc-


	2. Chapter 2

Legal Disclaimer: I forgot to put this in the first chapter. So here it is, I'll only say it once: Not mine . 

Chapter 2

_It would have been nice to be able to think that Dumbledore chose me for a reason. Because I was the best. Because out of everyone else, I was the one he needed to carry out this master plan. I probably could have let myself think that. But I would have been believing a lie. I _know_ why he chose me. Exactly why. Because I was the only one still alive._

_­_-Ginny's diary

---

The familiar disorderly office faded away before Ginny's very eyes, replaced with a tidier one. There was an elderly man sitting at the desk. His name plate read _Headmaster Dippet_. He looked up slowly from his work and met her eyes with a calm even gaze, as though she hadn't simply appeared out of thin air. "Hello Miss--?"

"Weasley." Ginny said. "Ginerva Molly Weasley." Might as well tell the truth. What harm could it do?

"Yes. Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Miss Weasley," Professor Dippet said with a small smile. "I've been expecting you."

Ginny stepped back a step, stunned. Of all the things that this man could have said, this was the least expected. He could have informed her that purple flying monkeys had invaded Jupiter and she probably would have said 'That's nice, when did it happen?' But this. . . "You-- you were--?"

"Expecting you. Yes." Dippet nodded slowly and as though addressing a particularly dim child said, "A Seer told me." Oh, well that answered everything. Not.

"Oh," Ginny said simply, deciding that she would rather not know the details of that particular story. Seers had never been her most favorite group of people and she was not particularly interested in hearing tales of which they were the protagonists. "I have an explanatory letter for you." She offered a scroll to the old man, who received it with a smile and read it.

He seemed to take the news rather well, as though it were a weather forecast rather than the announcement of the arrival of a time-traveling "foreign exchange student". "You will need to be in Slytherin, of course," the man said confidently.

"Of course," the girl agreed, halfheartedly.

"Mr. Riddle currently a seventh year."

"As am I."

"Would you like to stay in the dorms?" the headmaster inquired.

"I would prefer my own room," Ginny answered. "If it isn't an inconvenience," she added.

"No trouble at all." The man smiled and clapped his hands twice. A house elf appeared and bowed. "Twith, please prepare a room for Miss Weasley. She will also be requiring Slytherin robes and school supplies."

The house elf called Twith bowed again in compliance, summoned a measuring tape, and began taking and recording Ginny's measurements. Ginny barely felt the tape wrap around her. All she could think about was that she was going to have her own clothes. Her own books.

Her own _room._

-tbc-


	3. Chapter 3

A.N. I usually don't update this fast, but I'll try to continue at this pace if I can . . . I beg you to be patient with me if I slow down. I only have up to chapter 4 typed. bows Arigatou gozimasu!

Chapter 3

_For the first time in my life, I own something of my own. Something that is only mine and nobody else's. My very own room. But, now that I have it, it feels. . . lonely. It's odd, but after constantly being surround by people, the silence scares me. And I have so much space. And privacy. Maybe I should have asked to stay in a dorm. _

-Ginny's diary

---

Ginny had hoped to have class right away, but luck was not with her. Dumbledore had sent her back to a Sunday. And, as gossip in Hogwarts is the only thing that travels faster than the speed of light (some things never change), the whole school knew at least the house and gender of the new student before lunchtime even arrived.

Ginny, not being the scared and "let's dance around the issue" sort, decided to present her to Tom Riddle straight away, rather than let him seek her out. And once the youngest Weasley had made up her mind. . . well, that was that.

She looked herself over carefully in her full length mirror. Her new robes fit her perfectly, though it was a bit unsettling to be wearing Slytherin colors. As she ran her fingers through her straight long hair, she tried to decide what to do with it. Finally she took out her wand and charmed it so that thick red curls tumbled down her shoulders and ended just under her collarbone. After applying some lip gloss, she gave herself another once over. She was ready to go.

She didn't have to go far to find him. He and a few other Slytherins were just down the hall from the Common Room. Ginny's breath caught in her throat when she first saw him.

He was just how she'd remembered him, only more real. His slightly long dark hair fell into gorgeous piercing eyes. He was tall and lean. Muscular, but still thin. His Slytherin robes were immaculately neat and he held himself with an air of importance. Power. She could practically see it radiate off of him. Those surrounding him hung onto his every word, but his face only showed detached indifference. Boredom.

The group was spread out across the entire width of the hallway, so Ginny simply walked through the gathering at a brisk pace, brushing straight past Tom, staring resolutely forward the entire time. She must have grabbed his interest, for he grabbed her wrist. As he spun her, she drew her wand. They ended up facing each other with her wand just a hair from being up his handsome Slytherin nose.

"Hello Tom," she said evenly, lowering her wand slowly. Not giving him time to reply, she continued on with a slight chill in her voice. "I really haven't got time now, but maybe sometime else, hmm?" She snapped her wrist from his grip firmly as she turned. "Later then," she called as she walked off.

She did not look back to see his reaction, but she imagined that he only showed surprise for the briefest of moments. There was no doubt in her mind that the Prince of Slytherin would approach her before the day was done.

---

"A diamond in the rough."

Ginny jumped slightly. The voice had startled her. She had been alone in the Common Room, reading in an armchair by the fire while everyone else was at supper. She had not heard him make his entrance. Her back was facing him, but she knew him by his voice.

"Tom," she acknowledged. "Lurking in the shadows does not suit you." She set her book down on the table at her side and looked over in the direction that his footsteps seemed to emanate from. She had never seen anyone draped themselves over a couch in a graceful and dignified way, but he somehow managed to. He was like a cat, she decided. He could leap from a cliff and still look naturally elegant.

"You know me," he said. "But I must admit that I do not know you."

"I thought you knew everything that goes on in your castle," she responded demurely.

"Humor me."

"I am a Slytherin seventh year, like yourself," she told him, purposefully only stating what he had to already know.

"Go on." His voice was like silk and Ginny was, not for the first time, finding herself drawn to him.

"My name is Ginerva," she said, reluctantly using her given first name.

"At last, a lovely name to go with the lovely face. Welcome to Hogwarts Miss Ginerva." He smiled. It was not a rainbows and puppy dogs smile, but something darker, something that sent chills up Ginny's spine.

"You flatter me," she said. "But thank you and please call me Ginny."

"If you wish," he said back. "Now then, how would you like a personal tour of the castle?"

Ginny's mind was going a mile a minute. Should she accept? She wanted to keep up her cool façade, and she already knew the castle rather well, as she was not really a transfer student. But somehow, she could not bear to excuse herself from his presence just yet, he had her completely enthralled, though he had said very little. So she accepted.

"I would be honored if you would show me around the castle," she told him. They both rose from their seats and he held out his arm to her. She barely managed to hide her surprise as she took his arm and he led her out of the common room.

He showed her around the dungeons first, as they were already there. He spoke of the current Potions professor and of the Slytherin house ghosts. She absorbed the information eagerly, but tried not to look as captivated as she felt. She did not realize that she had been shivering until he removed his robe and draped it over her shoulders. She had forgotten to grab hers from beside the armchair and had been too busy listening o her guide to notice that she was cold.

"Thank you," she said softly. He said nothing, but brushed a curl from her face and held his arm out to her again. The continued on throughout the entire castle like that, her holding onto his arm and every word.

It was late when the finally returned to the Common Room. The fire that had been blazing brightly was reduced to a pile of charred wood and embers. The room was almost completely dark and the portrait had long since gone to sleep.

"Thank you for the tour Tom," she whispered. "I enjoyed your company."

He pushed another curl out of her eyes and leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. "It was my pleasure Ginny," he whispered, then disappeared into his room.

Ginny barely managed to get into her own room before sinking to the floor. She couldn't believe this was happening. She silently bade her heart to stop beating so furiously, but it didn't listen. She was supposed to seduce Tom, change him, and return to her time, not fall for him. This was the man who would be the Dark Lord. He would kill everyone she loved.

But he hadn't yet. And she had already fallen for him, hard and fast.

-tbc-


	4. Chapter 4

_EDIT._ **Yes, I know I already posted this chapter. I'm not crazy. Well, maybe a little. But I digress. This story is now on hiatus because I have joined the US Army. So no updates for a long time. Sorry! I love you all. I'll be back eventually.**

A.N. This chapter is dedicated to The Creatress who left me what I believe to be the one of the single longest reviews I've ever received, which brightened my day and prompted me to post this a few days ahead of time. ) Thank you!

Ryo-sama: Sh'up. Yeah, I said I stopped, but sometimes. . . y'know. You just hafta.

Chapter 4

_I thought that it would be hard to redo my seventh year in a whole new time. I thought that I would be an outsider in this House, that they would know that I don't belong. I was wrong. The mask that I put on that very first day felt natural; it was easy to be that person. Dumbledore was right I suppose, but he usually is. I have a connection with Tom. Because in a way, I am like him._

-Ginny's diary

---

Breakfast proved to be Ginny's first real test. Because she had not taken a meal with the other students yet, she had to face the awkward problem of seating arrangements. Though all of the Houses had their differences, one similarity remained across the board. Cliques and the seating that went with them.

She purposely took extra time getting ready in the morning, so as to arrive in the Great Hall a hair behind everyone else. This way, she could scope out the area. Also, if she was going to step on any toes (and toes almost certainly would get trod upon in situations such as these), she would rather step on them all at once.

As she had suspected, Tom sat at the dead center of the Slytherin table, surrounded by flunkies and fan girls. To his right and left sat a goonish looking pair that could have easily passed for bouncers or bodyguards. Plenty of muscles, none of with did any thinking. Ginny mentally labeled the Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber.

Across from him sat a handsome blonde boy, who was currently chattering away happily. He hadn't actually eaten any food, but seemed quite content to push it around his plate in what looked like a race between the sausage and the bacon. The sausage was winning.

To the left of the blonde boy sat a thin and apparently tall girl with long straight black hair. She gave no illusion of eating food at all, but listened carefully to the conversations going on around her with a frown.

To the right of the blonde boy, was another blonde boy. Twins, Ginny realized. This one was eating with the same amount of enthusiasm as his brother was talking.

Ginny approached the table slowly and deliberately, standing as tall as her five feet four inches could muster and look down at the Tweedle to Tom's right.

"You're in my seat," she coldly informed him. He looked up at her, obviously confused. "I said move over," she told him. The Tweedle looked to Tom, who did not acknowledge him or Ginny in any way, then scooted down to make room for the redhead.

"Thank you," she said politely, smiling and sitting. She said nothing to Tom, but instead began filling her plate and staring at the girl who was now across from her. The girl appeared to be attempting to glare a hole straight through Ginny's brain.

All eyes in the immediate area were on her now, except for Tom's. Ginny began cutting her waffle and said to them, "Stare long enough and I may do a trick. I can't promise it will be pleasant though," she warned. When she looked up, everyone was pointedly looking elsewhere. She thought she heard Tom chuckle. Perhaps she'd imagined it.

From listening to the breakfast chatter, Ginny was able to learn about the people sitting around her. The girl that she had so easily offended was named Vanessa. The twins were Kevin and Calvin, Kevin being the talking one and Calvin being the eating one. Calvin was on the Quidditch team; he was a beater. Kevin didn't play Quidditch, but he somehow managed to help run the team. The team that was apparently down by one chaser this year.

She didn't catch the Tweedle two's names as they didn't speak, nor were they spoken to. Vanessa didn't speak either, but that did not stop Kevin from holding a conversation with her when he was done talking at Tom. He didn't seem to need a person to talk with him, just someone to pretend to listen.

No one spoke to Ginny until the very end of the meal. Tom, not even turning toward her, asked in a low voice, "First class?"

"Advanced Charms," she responded, wondering why they were speaking quietly.

He simply nodded. And that was it.

---

Ginny's first class of the morning was especially easy for her. She had aced Charms the first time, so by now she could have likely done the spells in her sleep. Both Tom and Vanessa were also in the class; the other three had regular Charms on Wednesday.

Vanessa glared at her throughout the whole class, especially when Ginny informed her that she was waving her wand wrong. Tom watched the exchange with an air of slight amusement, but did not intervene, even when Vanessa threatened to curse Ginny's socks off. Of course Ginny retaliated by actually banishing Vanessa's socks, a move that elicited a smile from Tom.

Tom walked beside her after class. "So where did you send her socks to?" he asked.

"The kitchens," she told him with a smirk. "I thought the house elves might like them."

"You wicked girl," he teased.

"Can't help it," she said with a shrug. "She brings out the bitch in me."

"Vanessa does have that effect on people," he admitted. "I think she's jealous of you. She worked so hard to get 'close' to me, to make sure I knew who she was, and you. . . One day and you're at my right-hand side."

"Arrogant git," she muttered.

"Crafty vixen," he countered.

"Self-centered jerk."

"Know-it-all bitch."

"Ouch," Ginny said, hands over her heart theatrically. "You got me right here."

"You can't fool me," he kidded right back. "You don't have a heart for me to hit."

"Even if I did, you couldn't hit it if it were the size of Ireland," she shot back, poking fun at his aim in class earlier. He'd missed their target once because someone bumped him.

"Touché," he conceded.

"Serves you right, picking on a girl," she mock-scolded. "So, what's your next class?"

"Potions," he answered.

Ginny made a face. She'd opted out of Potions. Slughorn was the teacher and she didn't want to cross his path too often in the past, just in case. "I don't have it," she said flippantly. Potions aren't my thing."

Tom faked a heavy sigh of relief. "Good," he said. "Because if you were better than me at that too, why I might have to toss myself off of the Astronomy tower."

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" she said with a smile.

"No, just think of the mess I'd make. It's just too much of a hassle. Now, let's see. We have some time to kill before lunch; my class is after that. Fancy an outdoor walk?"

"No thanks," Ginny declined. She didn't want him to think that she had nothing better to with her time than be with him, even if it was the truth. "I have things to do. I'll see you at lunch."

-tbc-


End file.
